Improving Communication: Woolworths Customer Satisfaction Report

This report presents an analysis of Woolworths' customer communication strategies, aiming to improve customer satisfaction, retention, and overall competitiveness. The research involved interviews, questionnaires, and document reviews to assess current communication practices and identify areas for improvement. The objectives included enhancing customer feedback mechanisms, increasing employee adoption of new communication strategies, and improving the organization's profit margin. The study's findings revealed significant dissatisfaction among customers and a need for improved communication methods. The report includes a detailed data analysis report, outlining the methodology, data collection methods, and key findings, such as the percentage of satisfied and dissatisfied customers. The report proposes a communication plan with clear objectives, audience, dissemination methods, and timelines. This plan includes informing employees, stakeholders, and the community about the research findings and implementing new communication management processes to strengthen customer relationships and foster a positive organizational image. The report concludes with a call to action, emphasizing the importance of establishing a feedback mechanism and leveraging the internet for effective communication.

MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP 1
Management and leadership
Institutional affiliation
Name
Date

MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP 2
Assessment two:
Information action plan
Activity:
To improve the quality of communication between Woolworths limited and its customers
Objectives for information
search
 To enhance the rate of customer satisfaction
 To increase customer retention rate
 To strengthen the competitiveness of the organization in
the market
 To sustain and improve customer feedback mechanisms
 To facilitate the realization of the importance of a dynamic
organization
 To improve the profit margin and overall performance of
the organization
 To increase the rate of adoption of new communication
strategies by both the employees and its customers
 To decrease the time spent on a customer by 20%
 To empower employees to better deal with customer
issues, through successful management of mental health
issues
 To determine and improve current customer satisfaction
rate.

MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP 3
 To improve organization-community relations
Steps to take  Informing the employees about the consequences of not
communicating with customers effectively
 Supporting employees to be better communicators in the
workplace
 Provide a conducive environment where customers can air
their grievances without fear
 Develop and implement a workplace communication
policy
 Informing the employees about the benefits of active
customer engagement to their jobs and the entire
organization at large
 To promote teamwork that will improve individual’s
communication abilities in the workplace
 To provide effective communication equipment and
 Seeking the opinions of community leaders and involving
them in the decision-making process


MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP 4
Information required
(feedback, research
conducted via the internet,
journals, relevant articles)
Information Source
Feedback Customers, suppliers, and
employees
Secondary research Books, dissertations,
publications, annual reports,
journals, and magazines
Data collection methods  Interviews
Structured interviews will be used to collect data from employees
and customers. They will take the form of face to face engagement
and the use of survey forms. Both open-ended and closed

MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP 5
questions will be used in the interviews. They will be carried out
by sufficiently trained enumerators and overseers. Focused group
discussions will be sued to gather information from a group of
employees in the same department as well as customers based in
the corresponding geographical locations.
 Questionnaires
Questionnaire forms will also be used to collect date from
customers, employees as well as suppliers. They will be either
handed directly to the three groups or emailed to customers whose
details are available in the organization. Emailing will be the
primary method because it will make it possible to get the
feedback of both existing and former customers. The sampled
population will be requested to email back or hand over the forms
after filling them.
 Documents and records
Documents and records available to the organizations inform of
customer complaints, minutes .feedback from suggestion boxes,
financial records, customer referrals, database etc.this will
facilitate an understanding of the primary reasons for the existing
problems in the organization.
 Observations
This method will involve studying the interactions between the

MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP 6
company’s employees with customers and suppliers. Both
qualitative and quantitative data will be collected through this
method. It will enable observations of various behaviors involved
in the interactions (Bernard, 2013).
Data collected through these methods will be classified and later
analyzed.
Steps to test the data Reliability Reliable data sources such as communicating
directly to customers and not any other third parties
will be used to ensure the reliability of the collected
data.
The data capture methods to be used in the study
will also be chosen carefully.more emphasis will be
put on electronic data capture methods and the use
of capital letters where physical forms are involved
The personnel involved in data entry will also be
adequately trained to minimize any possible errors.
Data verification methods such as having two
computer entries for each set of data will be used so
that any variation is identified and corrected

MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP 7
(Westenholz & Achola,2007).
Sufficiency Data analysis methods will be used to ascertain the
adequacy of data. both qualitative and quantitative
data techniques will be used
Validity The validity of the data will be achieved through the
use of a sizable sample size that is representative of
the entire population (Fischer, 2008).
The samples that will be used in the study will also
be randomly chosen. This will ensure that the groups
are made up of different gender, age, and other
notable characteristics
It will also be guaranteed through the elimination of
any possible source of bias such as bias in the choice
of participants which would result in biased findings
(Singh, 2007).

MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP 8
Communication plan
Objectives:
To update the management on the status and finding of the research carried out
To inform employees in the areas of improvement concerning service delivery
To notify clients of the results of the study and the strategies to be used by the company
to address the identified challenges
To inform other stakeholders about the responsibilities of the organization, expected
standards in service delivery and results
To create trust between the organization, its employees, clients, and members of the
public
To manage the expectations of various stakeholders
To encourage participation and collaboration of all parties
Information checked
for accuracy,
sufficiency, currency,
and relevance
All data collected in the study, either through questionnaires,
interviews or document reviews will be tested by a team of
experts to ensure that it is accurate sufficient and representative
of the recent trends. The checking of the data will also be to
ascertain its relevance to the research subject being
investigated.
Audience Executives and departmental heads

MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP 9
Stakeholders
Employees
Suppliers
Customers
Members of the community
Location Various locations from within and without the organization
will be considered due to the distributed nature of the
organization’s audience
Dissemination
methods
Direct communication
This will be directed at the members of the community and
customers of the organization using various channels of
communication including social media, the web, and media
channels.
Internal communication
Internal communication will be used to communicate to
employees and other stakeholders. Both emails and social
media sites will be used (Miles & Gilbert, 2009).

MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP 10
Other methods that will be used include face to face
communication and reports.
Timeline Within 96 hours after completion of the research process
Policies/procedures to
be met
 All relevant communication will be made available for
the identified groups of users. responsible but limited
use of the information will also be allowed
 All information technology facilities to be used must be
used responsibly keeping information relating to the
customers and the business confidential
 Care must be taken when using the email or social
media pages of the company as means of
communication as these can be used in court against the
company
 All emails being sent from the organization must be
re-read
 All emails received from outside must not be amended
unless with authorization

MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP 11
 Copying of emails to other recipients must be avoided
to avoid breaching the data privacy act in case
customers email addresses are revealed to third parties
 All emails must include an appropriate business
reference for the organization.
 All the information relating Woolworths limited must
not be used in for the operations of other organizations
unless if prior permission has been sought.
Action  Introduction of new communication management
processes
 Initiation of a communication strategy
 Inform all the stakeholders of the new changes to the
organization policies and procedures
 Inform members of staff and customers of the intended

MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP 12
updates and changes to the organization communication
strategies
 Building and strengthening customer relationships
 To establish a feedback mechanism to allow and
encourage continuous communication on various issues
 Establish the internet as a powerful tool for
communication between the organization and its
employees
Documentation
(attach or complete
the text for your
dissemination,
including the
statistical analysis
you have completed
as evidence of your
decision)
Woolworths Limited
To: employees
Stakeholders
Management
Re: quality of communication between Woolworths and its
customers
As a result of our several challenges faced in the organization,
we carried out various inquiries about how effective the
organization's communication with customers has been, we

MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP 13
have learned that the process has been incorrectly handled.This
mishandling of communication has been the cause of the
various challenges facing the organization (Kothari, 2015).
Various sources have informed us how these communication
challenges have affected them either directly or indirectly.we
have also established multiple deviations in the current
methods being used(Adèr, Mellenbergh & Hand, 2008). we
have also found that a record number of 2499 customers have
either rated the organization's services or shifted their
allegiance to competitors
Data analysis report
Introduction
The main reason for carrying out this research was to identify communication-related challenges
affecting the organization in its association with its customers, the deviation from standard
communication practices adopted by the organization and how these had affected both the
organizations and its employees. Employees, customers, employees and secondary data were to
be used as the primary sources of information pertaining to the area of focus. The secondary
purpose was to look at the effect evenness of the communication tools used by Woolworths to
communicate to its customers. The study was focused on improving the rate of satisfaction and
customer retention, improve the overall competitiveness of the organization, increase the
adoption and usage of new communication strategies, improve feedback mechanisms for

MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP 14
customers, improve the overall organization efficiency, the relationship between the organization
and the community and enhance organization's profit margins.
Methods
Study design
We carried out multidimensional research to get the feedback from various parties in order to
compare the existing practices with the standard communication practices.
Subjects
Data analysis report
Introduction
The main reason for carrying out this research was to identify communication-related challenges
affecting the organization in its association with its customers, the deviation from standard
communication practices adopted by the organization and how these had affected both the
organizations and its employees. Employees, customers, and secondary data were to be used as
the primary sources of information pertaining to the area of focus. The secondary purpose was to
look at the effect evenness of the communication tools used by Woolworths to communicate to
its customers. The study was focused on improving the rate of satisfaction and customer
retention, improve the overall competitiveness of the organization, increase the adoption and
usage of new communication strategies, improve feedback mechanisms for customers, improve
the overall organization efficiency, the relationship between the organization and the community
and enhance organization's profit margins.
METHODS

MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP 15
Study design
We carried out multidimensional research to get the feedback from various parties in order to
compare the existing practices with the standard communication practices.
Subjects
All participants from the sampled population were interviewed or given questionnaires to fill
after which data was recorded for analysis purposes.The sampled populations participated in the
study between March 1, 2018, and 17 marches 2018.Former employees who had left the
organization for various reasons were exempted from the study. The exemption also included
new employees who did not have so much information about the company. The study was
approved by all the departments and other relevant institutions
Data collection
All eligible participants were approached and asked to give their participation consent.Out of 806
participants who were identified, 786 were found to be eligible and 20 found to be ineligible.All
786 participants gave consent and signed a form before participating in the study. All
participants completed the study, so their data has is included in the study.
Data Analysis
The difference between standard methods of communication and the methods used within the
organization will be compared to identify any gaps. Variables were controlled through the use of
various techniques (Gomez, Jones & Dawsonera, 2010). Frequency proportions and frequency
were calculated for categorical variables
Results

MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP 16
Descriptive statistics
N=786
No/ Mean % Average
Employees 24 3
Male 402 51
Female 384 49
Frequent
customer
700 87
Regular
customer
86 10
Former
customers
66 8
The rate of satisfaction with organization’s communication
No/Mean Average
Highly Satisfied 5 0.6%
Satisfied 150 19%
Dissatisfied 250 31
Highly dissatisfied 350 44%

MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP 17
Feels there is a need for
improvement
31 3.9%
Feels there is no need for
improvement
0 0
Out of the 786 people that participated in the study,51% were males and 49% were females. This
sample also represented 89% frequent customers, 11% regular customers and 3% employees.8%
present represented customers who had already shifted their allegiance to other companies.
Out of those sampled, 3.4% percent was of the assumption that the company was not faring on
well in its communication with customers and hence there was the need for improvement of its
communication strategies. None of those sampled was of the contrary opinion. The vast majority
of those sampled, representing 44% was highly dissatisfied with the company’s communication
strategies, while 31% was generally dissatisfied. Only 0.6% was highly satisfied while 19% were
satisfied. Out of this analysis, it is evident that a vast majority feel that the communication
strategies applied by the organization in dealing with its customers are inappropriate and need to
be changed.

MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP 18
Works Cited
Adèr, H. J., Mellenbergh, G. J., & Hand, D. J. (2008). Advising on research methods: A
consultant's companion. Huizen, Netherlands: Johannes van Kessel Pub.
Bernard, H. R. (2013). Social research methods: Qualitative and quantitative approaches. Los
Angeles: SAGE Publications.